The Presentation House Theatre

Presentation House aspires to bring you excellent theatre in your own neighbourhood.  In previous seasons, we have showcased the talents of local North Shore theatre artists including Nicola Cavendish, Jay Brazeau, Susan Astley and Suzanne Ristic.

Since its inauguration, our Third Street series has featured six Canadian plays including Life Skills by David King, Where the River Meets the Sea by Patti Flather, the western Canadian premieres of Beaver by Claudia Dey,  Mesa by Calgary playwright Doug Curtis, Bye Bye Baby by Montreal writer Elyse Gasco, and the world premiere of Bangs & Buddha by Kendra Fanconi, Maiko Bae Yamamoto & Eric Rhys Miller. Non-Canadian plays featured at PHT have included Oscar Wilde’s An Ideal Husband, Noel Coward’s Hay Fever, Edward Albee’s The Goat or, Who is Sylvia? (which garnered two Jessie Awards for actors Jay Brazeau and Kevin McNulty), Anton Chekhov’s The Three Sisters, Three Viewings by Jeffrey Hatcher and The Thing About Men by Joe DiPietro, which is currently touring the lower mainland under the banner of the Arts Club Theatre.

Beginning in 2004, PHT began producing the North Shore High School Drama Festival, which attracts over 150 participants each year, many of whom write and direct their own work.  The adjudicated festival also offers participating drama students free workshops with theatre professionals and the opportunity to study aspects of theatre not offered by their schools.  PHT also participates in the eyeGO to the Arts Program which offers high school students $5 theatre tickets to all of our shows.  We believe we have been developing future artists and audiences for Canadian theatre.

Since 2005, we have also co-produced a free-to-the-public Professional Play Reading Series, which attracts a small but dedicated audience of theatre lovers.  Working in collaboration with Sea Theatre, we have presented The Gwendolyn Poems by Claudia Dey, Vincent in Brixton by Nicholas Wright, Easy Lenny Lazmon and the Great Western Ascension by Anton Piatigorsky, a work-in-progress reading of Dorothy Dittrich’s play, The Dissociates, John Binkley’s Gang of Four, My One and Only by Ken Cameron, The Goat by Edward Albee, God in Hell by Sam Sheperd, A Perfect Ganesh by Terrance McNally and The Book of John by North Shore writer John McGie.

In June of 2008, Presentation House Theatre also hosted Andy Jones’ An Evening with Uncle Val as part of the Magnetic North Theatre Festival.